We started with planning the dinner, which wasn’t easy. Or I should say it was, as Phil only eats peas and corn when it comes to vegetables. So with choice limited to these two we didn’t really had to worry about what to cook. I picked peas and thought of a Beef Wellington to go with it for a while. But the thought of beef with a jacket of pasty didn’t appeal as it is costumary to put a layer of mushrooms between the two. This was too exotic. So we decided on a roast as it was well known that they all liked that.
Now I don’t mind if people are a bit picky and I think our idea to provide our guests with things they liked wasn’t a bad one, but it somehow backfired a bit. We called Kevin’s parents to get the low down on what they liked and before we knew it we had a long long list. With instructions and brands and this and that and the other. Here I remember thinking: this might not have been the best of idea’s. However it was too late we wanted to please so off we went to do the shopping.
We got the crisps they liked, Pepsi Max because Phil doesn’t drink anything else, fruit shoots for Bethany and white wine for Nicola. And that was just the beginning. So we went home with bags full with odd groceries. Let me cut in that both me and Kevin are part-time health freaks. We usualy don’t buy anything like crisps, cakes or cola. I say part-time because we are not against these things every now and then, we just don’t buy them on a weekly basis. Anyway we got home and forgot the bloody peas!
Then we found out that we got the wrong Fruit Shoots. We got the purple with blue tops and we needed the ones with the green tops (or the other way around I forgot). And that was the moment I had enough. I’m not very dramatic in general but I wanted to scream: they will eat and drink what we’ll put in front of them or they can p*** off!
Clearly a case of pre-dinner stress. But honestly I’ve never in my life heard of so many people (not just my guests but friends, etc) that are so picky when it comes to food. I find I have a hard time coping with this English? mentality. My Dutch side rebels because (as our saying goes) ‘act normal then you act funny enough’ which is applied to everything in daily life and in the case of food it means: you will eat what is in front of you and you won’t make a fuss. My Italian side rebels because food is meant to be enjoyed. People that only eat peas make me confused. I think this comes mainly from the fact that I just don’t understand that.
Right so I had my little rant and am fine now. As was the dinner in the end. It was a great succes and to jazz things up we carved two pumpkins of which you see two pictures with this post.
I always thought that carving pumpkins would be really hard, but it really easy. We bought this mini carving kit at the supermarket for next to nothing (read two pounds) and started working. I used a template that came with the kit and Kevin decided on a more traditional scary pumpkin of his own design.
We started with cutting of the top and scooping out the flesh and seeds. The kit has a handy plastic scoop that did it’s job well and easy. With the little crayon we traced the outline of the eyes and mouth (and in my case hands and eyebrows). There was a puncture tool in the kit. This was great to make a hole in the pumpkin in which we could insert the mini saws (one course, one fine). Then it was just a question of sawing over the lines. It was great fun! Even Kevin, who isn’t usually a very creative person, found it heaps of fun. We where very proud of the results and I’m sure that next year we might throw an actual halloween party. But for now I’ve had enough family fun until Christmas.
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